Machinery for an id prog ess of finishing buttons



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

I H. 'W., G. an OLE. MERRITT, v MACHINERY FOR AND PROCESS OF FINISHING BUTTONS 1 No. 294,490, 4 I Patented-Mar; 4, 1884.

.3 SheetsShget 2.

(No ModelJ, Y. I

- H. W.,.M. (L81; 0. E. MERRITT MACHINERY IOR AND'PROGESS 0F FINISHING BUTTONS.

' Patented Mar. 4,1884.

H No; 294,490.

WITNESSES; gggw I a; v /%L7Q I I ATTORNEY I N PETERS. Pbalo-Lflhogmphan Wnhinghm. 0.6,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

H. W M. G. & 0'. E. MERRITT. MAGHINERY FOR AND PROCESS OF FINISHING BUTTONS.

No 294,490. Patented Mar. 4,1884.

I WITIIESSES: mvEN-Tbm ATTORNEY N4 FEI'ERS. mmumo n mr. Wanhingtm D. c.

HENRY. W. M-EBRITT, MORTIMER e. MERRITT, ANT) CHARLES MERRITT,

, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINERY FOR AND PRoic-Ess-o F FlN'ISHING BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of itters Applicatioh'iiled January 12,- 188:. (Nan-lanai;

, To all whom 'it may camera;-

at Springfield, in the county of Hamp'den and State of Massachusetts, have "invented new] and useful Improvementsin Maehinerfy for and Process of Finishing Buttons, of whiehthefollowing is a specification.

Thisinventi'on relates to improvements in machinery for and process offinishing vegetable ivory, horn, plastic-material, animativory, and other buttons, the object being to provide improved means for perforating said buttons instead of drilling them, and for, simultaneously with perforating them, countersinking the borders of the hole s'th'rough themand embossing their faces, whereby holes t rough the button are formed perfectly smooth and much more rapidly and economically than by methods heretofore practiced.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view of a doubleacting press provided with button perforating and embossing devices embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly ins'eetion, of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is the hollow embossing and countersinking punch. Fig. 4 is the perforating-punch. Fig. 5 is the button-seat. Figs. 6 and 7 respectively show the front and rear sides of a b u'tton finished by our improved machinery and process.

In the drawings, A is an ordinary doubleacting punching-press, on the outer end of whose shaft is a crank-stud, e, which acts in a well-known manner, when said shaft is rotated, to give the sliding tool or punch holders b and a successive reciprocating motions, whereby a tool carried by c is made to move within the tool carried by b, partly with and partlyaindependent of the latter. In the slid ing part I) is secured the hollow punch f, the lower end of which is engraved or otherwise figured with such a design as .it is desired to transfer by pressure to the face of the button y, Fig. 6. The lower end of the punchf is perforated, as shown in Fig. 3, and surroundmg each of said perforations is a collar, 2, projecting from the face of the punch outg D wardly, of conical form. Between the'bases Be it known that we, HENRY W. MERBITT, MORTIMER G. MERRITT, and fGHARLEs 1 MERRITT, citizens of the United States, residing of the collars 2', running in X form, are threadslotting bars 5, standing up in half-round form on the face of the punch. A second punch, d, is secured in the sliding part c of the press, and operates within the punc'hj. The punch d isprovided with a series of small punches, a, which are adapted-to pass through the aforesaid perforations in the lower end of the punch f. v

A button-seat, 10, Fig. 2, having a concave face and a suitable shank, is located inthe base B of the press, directly under the punches f and d. The seat w is adapted to be moved upward by an arm, h, which is connected to the sliding part b, one end of which extends under the shank of said seat, and when said arm descends the seat drops onto the base again. The seat wis, like the punch f, perforated to coincide with the latter, and, like said punch f, is provided with conical-shaped 001- lars z, surrounding its perforations, the latter being adapted to receive the lower ends of the series of small punches a on the punch 01.

The'faces of the punch f and the seat 10 may be made with or without the collars z and 2, according to the work to be done, and also without the slotting-bars 5.

One means of feeding buttons one by one to the punchesf and d is shown in Fig. 1; and it consists of the perforated circular plate D, provided with ratchet-teeth o, and adapted to be rotated on a plate lying under it, the latter having a hole in it over the seat w, to let a button carried around by one of the holes in plate D drop onto said seat. Intermittent rotary motion is given to plate D by the pivoted levers t and 1-, to which is connected the pawl s, lever t'being connected by the adjustable rod oto the sliding part Z) of the press by the arm n. Any other suitable means of feeding buttons to the punches may be adopted in plac'e'of those shown, such feeding mechanism forming no part of this invention.

. The operation of our improvements is as follows: The blanks for the buttons are turned or otherwise formed ready for perforating, and are properly softened by steaming, wetting, 0r warming to prepare them for being easily and safely perforated, and for the proper action of the embossing-punch. The blanks are then fed one by one and dropped onto the seat 10, or deposited in the opening of the plate above it. The punch f then descends upon the blank, forcing it against the seat w, and so compressing it as to emboss its face and force the conical collars z and bars into the front face, and the collars 2 into the rear side ofthe button. As soon as the punch f has come down upon the button, as above stated, the punch cl descends, forcing the small punches a through the button and forming perfectly smooth holes in it, through which to pass the thread in sewing the buttons onto garments, and the conical collars z and bars 5 011 the punch f, and the collars .2 on the seat 10, format the same time the countersunk borders around the holes, (shown in Figs. 6 and. 7 and the thread-slots (5 between said holes on the front of the button, whereby the borders of the holes are made smooth and the cutting of the thread is obviated, and the usual channels for the thread between the holes are formed. After the aforesaid action of the punches, they rise up, and arm h strikes the shank of seat 10, throwing up the latter with the button and carrying the latter above plate D, from which it is pushed off into any suitable receptacle, completely finished.

Ordinarily the aforesaid classes of buttons, if embossed, are so finished by a separate operation, and when drilled each hole is the subject, generally, of a separate operation, and drilling a hole does not leave its sides as smooth as does punching, and, furthermore, the countersinking of the thread-holes'is ordinarily a separate operation from the drilling, as also is the forming of the thread-slots. It is obvious that the lower end of the punch 40 f may be figured or left plain, according to the finish it is desired to produce on the but tons, and that one, two, or more of the small punches a may be employed.

\Vhat we claim as our invention is- 1. A machine for finishing buttons, consisting of a double-acting press, substantially.

latter, a punch operating within said hollow punch, having thereon a series of small punches passing through the said perforated face, and a button-seat having perforations coinciding with those in said hollow punch, and having projecting cone-shaped collars surrounding its perforations, combined and operating substantially as set forth.

3'. A machine for finishing buttons, consisting of a double-acting press, substantially as described, a hollow punch having a perforated face, a punch operating within the latter, and having thereon a series of small punches passing through said perforated face, a perforated button-seat having an intermittent reciprocating movement before the ends of said punches, by means substantially as de scribed, and suitable feeding devices for depositing button-blanks one by one between said'punches and button-seat, combined and operating substantially as set forth.

4. A machine for finishing buttons, consisting of a double-acting press, substantially as described, a hollow punch having a perforated face upon which is engraved or otherwise formed an ornamental design, a punch operating within said hollow punch, having thereon a series of small punches passing through the perforated face of the hollow punch, and a button-seat having perforations coinciding with those in the latter, combined and operating substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a double-acting press, substantially as described, of the hollow punch f, having a perforated face, the interior punch, (I, having thereon the series of .95

small punches at, and the movable button-seat 10, having therein perforations coinciding with those in the hollow punch, substantially as set forth.

6. The process of perforating and embossing buttons, which consists in pressing a button-blank between a design-bearin g punch and a seat, and while so pressed forcing one or several thread-hole-forming punches through the blank, all substantially as described.

7. The process of perforating, thread-slotting, and embossing buttons,which consists in pressing a button-blank between a design-bearing punch having slotting-bars thereon and a seat, and while so pressed forcing one or several thread-hole-forming punches through the blank, all substantially as described.

HENRY W. MERRITT. MORTIMER G. MERRITT. CHARLES E. MERRITT.

\Vitnesses:

WM. H. CHAPIN, H. A. CIIAPIN. 

